There is 2 or 3 known aftermarket coolers for the HD5870. I'm looking into buying one, as I want to reduce max load temp on my XFX reference 5870. It hits 80 degrees celsius after an hour of BC2. I know it's not that warm, but I like to keep my cards cool. The fact that my ATCS840 case doesn't cool as much as my Antec 300 (full of fans) doesn't help either...I was getting better temps with the 300 than the ATCS840...

The Zalman looks really nice, but it seems that some people are bricking their cards when installing it...maybe PEBKAC, but who knows...it's also pretty cheap while pricematched.

The Accelero Xtreme5870 can be purchased online from AC or very few online retailers, but factoring-in the price of shipping on top of the price of the cooler makes the purchase more or less NOT ATTRACTIVE.

Hopefully NCIX (and others) will start stocking the Accelero5870. NCIX sells the 5970 version of this cooler.

They stock this one that fits on the 5870, but it's not a dedicated solution, it's a generic cooler that is compatible with : ATI 4850 4870 4890 5870 NVIDIA GTS 240 250...

Any experience with both Zalman and AC vidcard coolers? I know XFX's warranty is still ok if I change the cooler on the card, but is it more risky to do that to install a CPU cooler? I mean it can't be...
What do you think?

ive used the zalman once or twice. as always, its good but not that good. if you find it used go for it. brand new? 45 bucks not too bad either

now. your temps are not that bad plus you got warranty. if you had 100c on the gpu as soon as you started a 3d app, then maybe.

Delavan

July 10, 2010 08:46 PM

Nice looking indeed. The price is decent also.
Only sad part is that it's back ordered. It's one of these "generic" coolers that fit on a plethora of cards. Although it might be a good selling point for some (possibility of re-using the cooler on another card later), but it's also a BAD, because it's not a dedicated engineered solution to specifically give you the best for YOUR card.
There is also a cruel lack of reviews on this unit. Same to be said of the AC Acelero Xtreme 5870. The search for reviews leads to only one review from the middle-east and that's all.

It seems that Aftermarket VGA coolers don't get as much attention (REVIEW WISE) as before.

I really like how that cooler can use the graphics card's onboard PWM to control the fan speeds. Reviews so far don't seem to be exceptionally promising though. But then again it was only tested on the Fermi, which all the aftermarket cooling companies seem to be avoiding like the plague.

I've bought a lot of Zalman GPU and CPU coolers in the past and have never been disappointed in the build quality. They're never quiet at max speed though, and performance is rarely at the absolute top of the charts. (although they're always up there)

The AC coolers for the 5870/5850 will be hard to find, you're better off getting an Accelero for cheap and doing a little creative modding. Just add some heatsinks for the VRMs.

Delavan

July 10, 2010 09:02 PM

I was just reading a review on the Accelero GTX version (GTX 260,275 and 285) for a quick feedback. Seems to be complaints about ineffective VRM cooling and crappy thermal padding...I'd like a surefire way to improve temps without playing russian roulette...

CroSsFiRe2009

July 10, 2010 09:12 PM

I'm not sure why you have an aversion to the so called 'generic' coolers. It's not logical to factor out good heatsink options just because they support a lot of different cards. I may be wrong in this assumption but based on what you've written, it does certainly seem so.
A Twin Turbo Pro will fit based on this silentpcreview.com | View topic - Twin Turbo Pro Installed on my 5870 :-). I also think a Accelero S1 would work in this case too with cut fins too. Supposedly a 5870 does not need any modding with the Twin Turbo whereas the 5850 is slightly different requiring some fins to be cut.

Edit: "As for your problem with high vrm and mem temps, it is easily solved by taking apart the stock cooler and using the baseplate along with your choice of heatsink"

Seems I was wrong about that, the 5870 baseplate is NOT separable. However, I still think the TTPro is your best option since you can use the provided heatsinks for mem/vrm

Delavan

July 10, 2010 09:35 PM

Quote:

I'm not sure why you have an aversion to the so called 'generic' coolers. It's not logical to factor out good heatsink options just because they support a lot of different cards. I may be wrong in this assumption but based on what you've written, it does certainly seem so.

Oh, I'm definitely ready to consider all options. I just though that a "specifically" engineered solution, where all the attention has been put towards finding the best solution for a specific card would be the better option. I remember quite a few stories of incompatibilities, or slight modding necessary to "make fit" a product that was "supposed" to be a perfect fit...

i'll definitely look at the review from Silentpc that you pointed out to me!
Thanks!

Edit: That Twin turbo seems to be well appreciated by users. It's make to "wick-out" 120watts, but the Accelero Xtreme 5870 is designed for 250 watts...might be even better! I guess I would have to find a solution for these "never stick enough" RAM sinks and VRM sinks...I heard about some epoxy compound that could be used...is there such thing as a thermal-conductive epoxy for Ram sink usage?

jcmaz

July 10, 2010 09:48 PM

I would use the AC S1 REV2 because:

1) it is cheap, therefore "disposable" if you destroy it.
2) It is compatable with the 5870.

CroSsFiRe2009

July 10, 2010 09:56 PM

No problem. I'd just like to point out that almost all recent Accelero coolers have been pretty much the same except that they come slightly modified or have vrm specific cooling. I think the best option if you don't want to do any modding is order some of the 5870 heatsinks that are meant for the Accelero 5870 from the AC store (It's only a few dollars) and install them with the TTPro. It does get expensive quick though.

Edit: Yes I quite agree with the ACS1 option. Saves you a big chunk of change